Good performance is a sign that young people are learning, a new culture is taking hold and better days are ahead. And as the losses pile up, they are gleefully presented as lessons that will eventually pay off.

However, there’s probably a limit to the amount of great learning a team can pull off in one season. And judging by the heaviness that suddenly comes out of their game, the Montreal Canadiens players seem to have reached that limit.

On Tuesday, during a drowsy game in Philadelphia, a series of games lasted nearly 10 minutes without officials blowing the whistle. But the CH and the Flyers were so unintentional that the game’s descriptor, Pierre Houde, went on air that he felt like he was speaking without saying anything.

So did the brave supporters who came to the Bell Center Thursday night.

Playing rather cautiously, the Panthers won 5:2. This match was kind of a formality. It was one of those nights when one of the teams showed up at the arena because of the schedule. It’s also almost a miracle that CH, who only created four tiny chances to score, were able to score two goals in this clash.

After the game, Martin St-Louis seemed at ease with his players. Even he seemed to have lost that beautiful energy that characterizes him. The Habs head coach held his press conference in a monotonous and almost resigned tone.

In particular, St-Louis stated that there are limits to the emotions that a team eliminated from the playoffs can artificially generate in order to maintain a high level of competition. And he stressed that you can’t fake the sense of urgency that drives a team like the Panthers struggling to secure a place in the playoffs.

However, it is also very difficult to draw great collective lessons when half the class is constantly missing.

Martin St-Louis was named the Canadiens’ head coach on February 9, 2022. When the Canadiens’ season ends on April 13, he will have played 119 games behind the bench. And incredibly, St. Louis won’t even have had the opportunity to lead a full roster.

According to the Man-Games Lost site, CH players will miss a total of more than 600 games this season. Add to that the record-breaking 730 absentees last season.

To illustrate just how abnormal the Canadian’s situation is, Man-Games Lost posted a tweet a few weeks ago that was both humorous and scary. It was noted that if the trend continued, New York Rangers would need to play 870 additional games (equivalent to 10.5 seasons) to compensate for the number of games missed by CH players this season.

This tweet was posted on March 10th and hasn’t aged badly. Since then, Brendan Gallagher, Jordan Harris, Jake Evans and Kirby Dach have been back in action, but Josh Anderson and Kaiden Guhle saw their seasons over and Dach was injured again. Then on Thursday, veteran David Savard failed to complete the warm-up session ahead of the matchup against the Panthers.

As many as seven players, or a third of the squad, saw their seasons end early due to serious injuries. We are long past the stage of bruised arms holding the torch. The Canadian clinic bears the eternal code Orange.

It’s a bit unlucky. You start having players again and you lose Josh, you lose Dach, and then we lose Savard. But the league doesn’t care. The league goes on. It is not easy. But these are reruns that you can’t buy. Our young people gain experienceMartin St-Louis philosophized.

It’s quite surreal to conclude that a 28th place team that seems to be taking a nosedive with two weeks left on schedule has either exceeded expectations or retained a certain dignity. Never in a thousand years could I have imagined writing something like this.

However, it is the case.

Nobody expected this team to win. At the same time, no one expected that the CH would fight and fight for so long.

Under such difficult circumstances and with such limited resources, many other formations would have packed up somewhere in January.

No matter what the next two weeks throw at them, this team deserves respect. And a healthy dose of indulgence.